There are some preliminary reports about Bill Clintons purported $50,000-a-month retainer  paid out to Teneo, a firm where he is chairman of the board  from his friend Jon Corzines now broke MF Global. It reminds of Newt Gingrichs getting $30,000 a month for his work as a historian for Freddie Mac up until the eve of its crack-up. One comes away with a sort of despair that our most prominent politicians, who have already done quite well in private and public life, still cannot refrain from cashing in on their contacts for even more cash.

The symptoms are depressingly the same: the big retainer fee, the financial insolvency of the clients, the lack of financial expertise on the part of the consultant, the apparent lack of any quantifiable value in the service rendered, the euphemisms employed to disguise the lobbying efforts (Clinton was supposed to improve the image of CEO Corzine, rather than be an historian of the company).

One can think up all sorts of new rules and regulations to stop this sort of insider influence peddling (the various ways of making millions are endless, as the Freddie and Fannie vets attest  cf. Emanuel (Freddie), Gorelick (Fannie), Johnson (Fannie), Raines (Fannie), etc.  but there would no doubt be ways of circumventing them. In the end, the only antidote we are left with is shame, and a general public weariness with affluent and pensioned figures maximizing profit in ways made possible by their past public office.

One question remains  that of cause and effect: Are the clients usually broke because they habitually do these stupid and often unethical things, or are they already insolvent, and thus both the client and the lobbyist seek eleventh-hour cash before the dying firms expire?

The symptoms are depressingly the same: the big retainer fee, the financial insolvency of the clients, the lack of financial expertise on the part of the consultant, the apparent lack of any quantifiable value in the service rendered, the euphemisms employed to disguise the lobbying efforts (Clinton was supposed to improve the image of CEO Corzine, rather than be an historian of the company).

Seems pretty accurate to me. Of course this is not just BJ and Newt, it is extremely common for ex-politicos from both parties.

Everybody understands that this is outright bribery by all parties - it is just covered up by the media! Our government is so corrupt that even the media is involved and will not report on this. Thank goodness that blogs cover it but that will not be enough to overturn this rancid government.

It is time for a third party if no reason other than to shake things up enough to rid us of these permanent politicians.

Unfortunately, that will be too late to save the nation. We have now guaranteed that those that need will continue to suck the lifeblood from the nation (Once over 50%, the result has been determined).

One question remains  that of cause and effect: Are the clients usually broke because they habitually do these stupid and often unethical things, or are they already insolvent, and thus both the client and the lobbyist seek eleventh-hour cash before the dying firms expire?

Gore was aiming for a multi-trillion-dollar scam and Gingrich wanted a piece? Yes IMO.

A lot of stuff happened before the ad.

Excerpts from the linked article:

"Meanwhile, Gingrichs staff balked at what Gores Alliance for Climate Protection wanted the former speaker to say in the ad. They refused to clear the words 'crisis' to describe climate change or for him to say -- 'We need new laws' -- to address it, according to one person familiar with the making of the commercial who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Script Negotiations

"'We rejected the initial script because it stated positions that we just didnt believe were true,' said Tyler. 'They wanted Newt to basically talk about global warming, which we would not do. At the time, climate change was seen as a safe thing to say.'

"Gingrichs staff and Gores negotiated intensely over the commercials script, up until midnight the day of the shooting at the foot of the Capitol in April 2008. . . . "

It had to be really, really important to both of them -- and that's important with a capital $.

6
posted on 12/06/2011 7:29:54 PM PST
by WilliamofCarmichael
(If modern America's Man on Horseback is out there, Get on the damn horse already!)

I know a man who displays an ostentatious marble bench outside his corporate offices that is engraved in large script, “Enough is just a little bit more”. He’s also an elected official and a Republican, and he’s not even embarrassed about the bench.

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